For most of the week, my husband has been working in the fields. Plowing up soil and planting seed. We practice pretty intensive grazing here on our farm, so when spring comes, the cows will have some nice, green pasture to eat. And I will be taking lots of pictures because there’s something so beautiful about a green field full of cows. I see serenity. I see a simpler time back in olden days when life didn’t get too complicated.

But, mainly, I see cows.

Back to my husband working… When he’s busy doing things like this, I don’t see much of him. Sometimes, he doesn’t even come in for something to eat. I no likey. You see, I find my husband very entertaining. Not just because I’m an isolated farm wife, but because he’s actually a lot of fun. I enjoy working alongside him.

I use the term “working” loosely. He usually ends up doing the majority of it while I have a seat on a bucket and chat. This body is not made for long stretches of manual labor. His, however, is. Right?… That’s what I tell myself. [Sigh] Sometimes it’s so nice being a girl.

When the farmer is driving tractors and tearing up fields, I can’t go. One: because there’s no room for Peanut and I. Two: I can’t drive a tractor. So, we get left behind. Peanut and I don’t do well left to our own devices. We get bored and cranky. Peanut’s like me in the sense of enjoying being busy. I work well when things get a little hectic. I thrive, actually.

That’s been the hardest part of moving down here for me. My mind yearns for stimulation and having nowhere to go and nowhere to be makes me anxious and restless. Do some of you other country-living women have some suggestions for me? I know we all go through it.

This week, though, someone came to visit that I always look forward to seeing: my sister-in-law, Teahna!

Her husband, Brian, trains Fox Trotters, so they were here for the annual show that’s held in Ava, a short distance from where we live. It was a double win for Peanut and I. She had cousins to play with and I got a good girl-talk fix.

We all went out to Ava Thursday night to watch Brian show. Bailey came along, too, so that made it extra fun.

Peanut had never been to a horse show before, so she was completely enamored with them. She loves horses, anyway, so we knew going would be a hit with her. We enjoyed it, too. Fox Trotters are known for having an extremely smooth gait. A luxury-car ride, except on a horse. My favorite thing to watch is the canter. They all look like carousel horses going around and around. It’s really pretty.

We didn’t leave until 11:30 that night. The farmer was draggin’ a little the next morning.

We went back Saturday night (and stayed way too late again, but we’re not sorry). Below is a picture of my daughter with her first ever Dr. Pepper. Needless to say, she loved it and it obviously put her in a soda-pop stupor. (You can also tell the farmer has been working outside. His face is a nice, crisp, red color.)

Brian was competing for World Grand Champion in the 5-year-old open class with Fancy Flashback.  According to my sources (Teahna), this is the mother of all competitions for horses and their trainers. To win this would be the greatest accomplishment of Brian’s career. It’s a pretty big deal. He had high hopes for this horse. Her mom won World Grand Champion in 2001 and her dad, Jester’s Charming Legend, is also a champion.

(I haven’t totally figured out how to take pictures with my zoom lens…in the dark…with a flash that isn’t quite bright enough for what I’m trying to capture. I think I needed a hand-held flash bulb that would leave the people across the arena seeing spots for that one. I had to brighten the picture 100%. Help me. I’m a novice.)

We all sat in nervous anticipation, willing Brian and Fancy Flashback to win. The competition was stiff. When the announcer shouted, “Number 184! Brian Oglesby on Fancy Flashback!,” we all jumped up and started cheering. I’m actually not even sure what the announcer said. All I heard was, “Number 1-8-” and I was woo-hooing. When ya know, ya know.

You’re lookin’ at the 2012 World Grand Champion right there! We were so excited that we got to see them win. Congratulations, Brian! We’ll come back next year so you can win again. 😉

It was a great week!

Wondering where I’m going to go this week without any horse shows,

The Dairymaid

P.S. If you’re itching for a new camera, have your husband take pictures in the dark with your starter D-SLR and he will be immediately ready to upgrade you. I’ve got a Nikon D3000 for sale.